Gus on A day

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Gus Malzahn: I'm 'probably more guarded than most' coaches

Brandon Marcello

AUBURN, Ala. — One can easily make a spring football scrimmage seem more important than it really is in the grand scheme of a program's growth before a season.

Players who struggle at Auburn’s A-Day scrimmage can dominate the next season (see Cam Newton) and those who are MVPs struggle to crack the rotation (linebacker Kenny Flowers in 2014), leave the team (receiver Myron Burton Jr. in 2015) or suffer injuries (safety/linebacker Justin Garrett in 2013) before the season begins.

Still, there’s one aspect of scrimmages that Gus Malzahn worries about: showing too much of the offense and defense on television. Auburn’s A-Day scrimmage Saturday is set for 1 p.m. CT on the SEC Network and Malzahn doesn’t sound like a coach ready to unleash the full playbook of newly-hired coordinator Chip Lindsey on the Auburn fan base in attendance.

“It’s kind of one of those things where, you think back to when (quarterback) Nick (Marshall) was a senior, we were a little more open than we have been in the past, because people knew we had a lot of guys coming back,” Malzahn said, referring to the 2014 spring game. “So every year is a little bit different. At the end of the day, you’ve got to do what’s best for your team. There’s a lot of information these days on TV and in the stands.

“So, yeah, I’m pretty guarded. Probably more guarded than most. And I need to be.”

Auburn has never allowed the media to watch a full practice since Malzahn arrived as head coach in 2013. Several practices in the spring include 20-minute viewing sessions for the media. These four "open" viewing windows are usually set aside for players to go through individual drills before they stretch and begin practicing team drills.

The big story this spring is Auburn’s quarterback competition, but it will not be settled this spring. Even so, Jarrett Stidham will exit April as the favorite to beat incumbent starter Sean White for the job. White is limited this spring as he continues to rehabilitate an injured arm he broke in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2. That battle will rage until at least mid-August.

Malzahn maintained he did not yet have a plan for the only scrimmage open to the public this spring inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.

“Me and Chip will get together as it gets closer and we’ll have a plan for what the idea is as far as run/pass and with each quarterback, what our plan is for them,” Malzahn said. “But that’ll probably be a Thursday conversation as it gets later in the week.”

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